Tech

We got to look inside Google's NYC pop-up store before it opens to the public

Google's New York City pop-up store is conveniently located near Mashable headquarters, sowe walked over to get a peek (and share it with you!) before it opens to the public on Thursday, Oct. 19.

The store will be open through Dec. 31, with the daily hours of 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. It's located in the Flatiron District of Manhattan at 110 5th Avenue. Like its sister pop-up site in Los Angeles, it will be filled with Google's latest hardware collection, including the Pixel 2 phone, Google Home Mini, and Google Home Max.

Here's a look inside:

As shown below, the pop-up store has product tables covered with different members of the Google hardware family for you to pick up, test out, and play around with.

The store includes a VR section, so you can sit down in cushiony chairs, put on Google's Daydream VR headset, and select an experience. I chose an undersea one in which a colossal humpback whale visited me as I stood on a long-sunken ship.

Below is a shot from outside the Google Home Max room. It's enclosed by walls and a thick glass door to keep the sound in. Google pumps the volume to demonstrate the Home Max's dynamic capabilities and thumping bass. While inside, you can use the built-in Google Assistant to tell the Max to play a specific song or lower the volume.

There's a band set up to rock the pop-up store grounds tonight (the event isn't open to the public), but Google said this stage will be replaced with product tables tomorrow, in time for its grand opening Thursday morning.

Google attached its very own Home Max speakers to the DJ booth. A Google representative told me that they aren't just there for looks, but will be pumping out sound during the private event tonight.

The space may look empty now, but come this holiday season, the temporary store will surely be packed, with lines to hear the Google Max and immerse oneself in Google's VR world.

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